Strange Things Will Happen
by majesticflowerchild
Summary: Emily Walters never knew a life outside of her abusive mother and shoplifting. Two-Bit Mathews didn't think he would ever be able to love a brunette again. Maybe they are the ones to change each other.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! I'm hannah! This is the first fan fiction I've published on here so if it's crappy, don't be super upset I've decided to write a fix mainly focused on Two-Bit and an OC, because you don't tons of those I may may write one focusing on the other boys and OCs but for now it's just this don't worry there's will be other Outsiders characters eventually**

 ** _trigger warning: This chapter has mentions of self harm and abuse!_**

 **Unless you don't recognize it from the book/movie, I don't own it! That stuff belongs to S E Hinton**

Emily had reached a new all time low. Before, it was that time she had used a knife to cut her hair without a mirror. She ended up getting a large gash on her neck instead. Now, she found herself in the bathroom of a drugstore, crying and holding a razor.

Her mom had beat her again, this time on the front porch where all the neighbors could see. Emily managed to escape, running as fast as she could and as far as she could. After she got too tired to run any farther, she stopped at a run down drugstore. She grabbed a razor from the shelf and ran into the bathroom of the store before anyone noticed and began doing the only thing she knew how to do when she was panicked.

Her whole body had gone numb and Emily had started to shake. She couldn't even feel as she slid the razor across her forearm. This happened all to often. It was a habit, what she did every time her mom got too angry, too drunk. Emily believed that the only pain she should be able to take is the pain she put on herself, not from someone else.

As soon as she lost track of how many times she had gave herself a cut, she stopped and threw the razor across the linoleum tile.

Emily didn't know what to do. She couldn't leave and go home. Her mom probably went out drinking, but it was to high of a risk. If she showed up covered in blood and tears, her mother would freak and beat her again for being such a pussy. She couldn't go to Patty's house. Patty was probably out with a boy getting laid. It was a Friday night after all. So instead, she stayed in the bathroom trying to clean up the blood till she ran out of paper towels.

The numbness in her body had began to disappear. Her arm hurt like a bitch. They had to have pain killers in that store, no doubt. And bandages too. But Emily had no money. She'd have to get them by stealing. Emily didn't like that she had to steal all the time, but she never had been caught. She never spent any of the money she got payed in hopes that she could save up enough to buy her own place to live instead of staying with her mom. Anything to get away from her mom.

Emily grabbed a long piece of toilet paper and tied it around her arm. She took a quick look in the rusted drugstore mirror, making sure she didn't look too distraught, and left the bathroom.

At this hour, the store was practically empty, except for the lonely worker who was dozing off behind the counter. This is good, Emily thought. If the worker was sleeping, she could easily sneak some pain killers and a Coke and leave. She made her way towards the pharmacy end of the store and searched for the pain killers.

She hadn't been looking for more than ten seconds when the sound of a bell rang out. To her left, the worker sprang up, fully awake. To her right, a boy walked through the creaky door of the store.

"Shit." Emily whispered, bending down and hoping to find the pain killers as fast as possible. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted that all too familiar packaging. She grabbed it and put it in her bra. There was no way anyone could get it there.

She got up as casually as she could and made her way to the sodas. Emily whispered some curse words when she was that guy that had walked in standing a mere 3 feet from the case. Still, she continued. Quickly, she grabbed a Coke and turned to stash it in her pocket when she heard the boy call out.

"Hey!" He said. She didn't turn around, hoping he wasn't talking to her. "Hey!" He called again.

"Shit, shit, shit!" She whispered

"Umm, girl, you're bleeding everywhere." He said. She turned. A trail of blood had appeared and made a trail back to the pharmacy aisle. She looked down at her arm. Blood had soaked through the one-ply piece of toilet paper she had on her arm.

"Ahh, fuck." She said.

"You know, there are these new fangled things called bandages. You should give them a try." Emily rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm good. I'll- I'll get some more toilet paper." She turned around and started towards the bathroom.

"You could just buy some."

"I don't have money." Emily replied shamefully. She looked back at the cashier, who had fallen asleep again.

"How are you gonna buy that Coke then?"

"Shit."

"You do like cussing, don't you?" It was true. Emily cussed quite often. "Look, I won't rat you out for shoplifting. Hell, I do it all the time." He looked her up and down. He payed special attention to her hair. "I can buy you some bandages if you give me that Coke."

"I'm not giving this to you."

"Let me have half of it."

"I could steal the bandages. It's not like Sleeping Beauty over there is gonna notice." He laughed.

"I like you. You're funny." Emily turned away from him and went to go get a roll of bandages. She didn't like this boy all too much. No. She liked him a bit. She like that he didn't rat her out. She liked his sense of humor. She liked how he was willing to help her. She liked how he didn't question what she was doing. And he was handsome.

Emily slipped the bandages in her pocket, waiting till she was outside to put them on. She made her way back to the the boy.

"Here." She said, taking that Coke out. "Have it."

"Nah. I'm good. I already have my own." He revealed the bottled from the inside of his coat. Emily smirked. She walked towards the exit. He opened the door and held it open.

"What's your name?" Emily asked as she took a swig of her soda.

"I'm Two-Bit."

"That ain't your real name, though?"

"Naw." He said, pulling out a cigarette. "My real names Keith. I don't like it all that much, though."

"I think Keith isn't all that bad of a name."

"I have my reasons for not liking it, but that ain't your business." Emily smiled. "I don't think I've heard you're name."

"Right. I'm Emily. That's not my real name, either. It's actually Madelyn, but I don't like that name."

"Well that's one thing we have in common right there. Our names." Emily nodded and took the bandage roll out of her pocket. She removed the toilet paper to find her arm still bleeding. She tried to wipe it away the best she could and wraped it back up. She could feel Two-Bit staring at her.

"Why do you do that to yourself?" He asked. She knew he was referring to the cuts. A lump formed in her throat.

"Family issues."

"Everyone on this side of town seems to have those, don't they?"

"Guess so." Two-Bit took a long puff on his cigarette and put it out.

"It doesn't seem like you're in much of a rush to get home, Emily." She nodded. She had no clue where she was going to go, actually. She'd end up at home, eventually, no matter how much she tried to stay away. A few pay checks more, and she wouldn't have to go back to that home.

"Hell, I have no clue where to go. I'll probably hang out here all night until work starts and head over there."

"Where do you work?"

"Some shitty ol' diner. Nothing special. You have a job?"

"No. I'm still in school."

"You look a bit old to be in school. I finished two years ago."

"I was supposed to finish back then. I'm just too damn stupid." He laughed at himself. "But ya know, I want an education so I can make some good money and buy my mom a nice ol' house with a working stove or something." Emily smiled. It was sweet that he cared about his mom. She wished she could, but she was just too hard to love. Too harsh and too obnoxious.

She looked up at the sky. He looked up too. "I'd better get going." He said. "I'm at the drive-in up by the lake tomorrow at 7:00. I could sneak you in with me if you want, seeing as you ain't got money."

"That sounds nice. I'll see about it." And with that, he left with a smile on his face.

 **I hope you enjoyed this! If you did please leav feed back on it and what you think I couldn't improve on! I'd appreciate it very much!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two!**

 **As promised, all the boys (minus Darry) are here! This isn't the best thing I've written. It's more like a filler chapter while I build up to their "date". I don't want to make this some lovey dovey fanfic, but for now, thats what it is. I think later on I'll add more action involving rumbles, Socs, and the Vietnam War. I think once this one gets slightly successful, I'll do more like this with each of the boys and their girls, which should all piece together.**

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE! That belongs to SE Hinton.

Two-Bit's POV

Man, was she pretty, thought Two-Bit as he walked down the old concrete sidewalks of Tulsa. And funny too. His head was spinning. All he could think about was this girl he had just met. Two-Bit wasn't one for love. He wasn't like Soda. He didn't like everyone he met. He surely didn't attract girls like Soda either. He wasn't like Dally though. Two-Bit had never known of Dallas loving anyone other than himself.

He didn't love this girl. He only really loved his mom. Even then, there were times when he didn't love his mom. Besides that, he'd never really loved anyone. So no, he didn't love Emily. But she was something, that's for sure.

Two-Bit kept his hand by his left pocket just in case any Socs tried him as he made his way to the Curtis house. Luckily, it was a quiet night. The only sound that could be heard was the chirps of crickets and electricity running through the streetlamps above.

Looking up, he smiled. If he had never gone to the drugstore for the hair gel Steve had asked for…

"Goddammit! The gel." Two Bit looked back. He could easily run back and get some. It would only take a few minutes. No… He had spent too much time already. He'd just say they ran out.

He spent the rest of the walk home sipping on his Coke and thinking about everything that had happened in the last fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes? It seemed so much longer then that. It was like time had slowed down when he was with Emily. There was no way he could go out with her though. She was too pretty, she had too many problems she needed to deal with. She seemed too much like him. That scared Two-Bit. Plus she was a brunette. He could never date another brunette.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he almost passed the Curtis's house. He hopped up the steps and into the house with a smirk on his face thinking about Steve's reaction to him not getting what he wanted. Two-Bit approached the door and opened it.

The whole gang was there. They'd always show up on Fridays. Darry and Soda would cook while Steve messed around with them in the kitchen. Johnny and Pony would toss the football outside while Dally and Two-Bit watched and sometimes joined in if they weren't drunk. Sometimes, some of them would brings their girls. Two-Bit lived for Fridays. He wouldn't be able to make it throught the school day without that to look forward to.

"I'm back!" He yelled as he entered the old house. A chorus of Hey Two-Bit's rang out through the home. The smell of cake swept the atmosphere. Two-Bit walked into the kitchen to grab a slice, spotting Steve eating a piece of cake on the counter. "Hey Steve. The drugstore was out of that gel you wanted."

"Shoot, Two! Didn't you try another one?" He sounded ticked off, but then again, he always did.

"No, man. Too late to be walking out and about like that."

"Then what took you do damn long?"

"Nothing. Just talkin' to someone is all." Two-Bit smiled a little. Sodapop looked up from his cake. Two-Bit didn't even notice that Soda was sitting there with him.

"Who was it you were talking to, huh?" Remarked Soda. Two-Bit could feel his face go red. Why do I have to be so pale? Two-Bit thought, cursing under his breathe. He noticed Soda's smile growning wider and wider. "Damn, Two! Was you talking to a girl, cuz that's what it seems like."

"Sure, sure. It was a girl. But it's not like we were hookin' up in the bathroom or nothin'. Just talking. And shoplifting."

"Two-Bit! What would your mother thing about you helping a girl steal?" Steve said jokingly.

"She'd say that I was being quite the gentleman."

Ponyboy walked in with Johnny and Dally. "Hey where is ol' Darryl?" Two-Bit asked, looking around.

"He's gone out with Alice." Pony replied. Alice was Darry's girlfriend. Two-Bit didn't know much about her, only that she was a realtor. She was pretty though. Those two were a match made in heaven though. They fit each other like a puzzle piece.

"I sure do like that there Alice." Steve said.

"Man, oh, man did Darry get lucky." Soda remarked back. "They are in love. THey are all I'd ever want with a girl." He paused. "Speaking of girls, Two-Bit over here's met himself a girl." The sound of cheers and clapping filled the room. Two-BIt grimaced.

"Tell us about her." Pony said excitedly.

"Man, we ain't dating or anything. I just met her tonight down at the store." He looked around and took a risk by saying, "I asked her out to the movies tomorrow." Another sound of hooting and hollering echoed in the room.

"You've always been a ladies man, Mathews." Steve remarked. The others nodded in agreement. Dally laughed.

"I don't understand why this is all that big of a deal. We've all had us a girl before. Like Darry has Alice and Steve, you have your girl. I'm not all that different." Two-Bit said, hoping to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"Yeah," Started Ponyboy, "But you haven't had yourself a proper date in a while."

"You're right there." Two-Bit answered, turning around to grab a beer from the fridge. The conversation had seemed to end, with Johnny and Pony walking to the porch and Soda and Steve goofing off once more. Dally walked out the front door, probably going to find some trouble in town, or to head down to Buck Merrill's place.

Two-Bit stayed in the kitchen, eating cake and drinking beer. It had been a good night. He talked to a girl, a pretty girl. And tomorrow he was going to the movies with her. It wasn't a date like the guys thought. He just wanted to hang out with her, talk some more. She seemed like she had stories to tell. He liked that.

So yeah, maybe he liked her… Just a little bit.

 **Don't forget to review! That would be sooooo helpful!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter THREEEEE!

 **I got my first review! Special thanks for it! I appreciate it. This chapter mentions self-harm and abuse just a bit, so just in case you don't want to read that, then just skip over. I am really hoping that more people will read the fanfic! It's gonna get better, I promise. Things are kinda boring right now, but I have an idea of where I want it to go and what I want to write in the future aside from this.**

The clock read 6:03 p.m.. Emily sighed as she put away her pad and pencil and took off her dirty apron. Her shift was finally over. She had just enough time to go back home and slip into some cleaner clothes before heading to the drive-in.

"I'm out!" She yelled into the kitchen before walking out the back door quickly, hoping no one would stop her.

The streets were busier than usual. Saturday nights were always really busy in Tulsa. She walked down the street while taking her hair out of it's ponytail.

She was dreading going home. Emily's mother would be there waiting. Her mom wouldn't care that she had been gone all night. Hell, she probably wouldn't haven't even noticed that Emily had been gone all night. But just the sight of her daughter would make her upset. It always did.

Emily lived on the crap side of town, the Greaser side as the people put it. She never thought of herself as a greaser, and others didn't ever see her as one either. She tended to keep to herself in school, trying not to mix in too much with any of the cliques in hopes that no one would be able to tell what she was. No one ever did.

Yet here she was at her worn down greaser home in the ugly side of Tulsa. If people saw this, then no one would treat her the same as she was before. That's just how things worked around here.

Emily climbed through the brush behind her house to the rust colored window that led to her bedroom. The window was broke in just the right spot, allowing her to easily open it and slip into her room without making much noise.

She silently closed the window behind her and listened for any sign of her mom. The radio was on. She was probably home. Emily took off her work clothes as silently as she could and tossed them onto her bed. She looked down at her arm. The cuts has scabbed over. She shut her eyes and slipped into nicer clothes.

Emily took pride in her clothes. Those were some of the only nice things she owned. Yes, lots of them were stolen, but those richer people could just buy new clothes anyway. She slipped into a plain green dress with the white collar that she liked and a pair of nice white shoes. No, She thought. This is too nice for the movies. She traded her white shoes for older, tattered black ones and grabbed some money from her stash that she kept under her bed and stuffed it in her bra before climbing back out the window.

In that moment, she heard a door slam from inside the house. Panicked, Emily squated and held her breath, pressing her body against the side of the house. She heard her mother start to yell. Frantically, Emily searched for a path that would get her to the road without her mom seeing her.

As soon as the yelling seemed far from her room, she ran through the brush to the sidewalk near the busy DX. Emily went in and made her way up to the counter.

"Excuse me…" She said to the cashier. He looked up from the paper he was reading. "What time is it?"

"`Bout 6:50." He replied, adjusting the grimy hat he wore.

"Shit." Emily muttered. "Thank you sir." She left the gas station and quickly started down the street, hoping she'd be able to make it to the drive in in time.

She knew it had been more than ten minutes when she had made it to the drive in. The sun was just starting to set, and people were getting ready for the film to start. Emily looked around, hoping Two-Bit remembered her. She lingered near the entrance, scanning the area for a sign of him. She had enough money to buy her way in.

Just as she was about to go up to the walk-in ticket booth, she heard a shout.

"Hey! Emily!" She turned to see a grinning Keith Mathews and two boys walking towards her. She waved and made her way towards them. The two guys with him shared a glance, whispered, and then nodded. Two-Bit turned around and smaked one of them.

"Hi Emily." He said as he neared. "Almost didn't recognize you wearin' that fancy dress of yours." She smirked and looked down at it to find the bottom covered in dirt and grime, probably from when she was hiding from her mom.

"Yeah… I take pride in how I dress." He started to walk, and gestured for her to follow. "Who are these two?"

"Oh, right." One of them spoke, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm Ponyboy… This is Johnny." The one called Johnny waved.

"Is your name really Ponyboy, or is that a nickname like Two-Bit."

"Naw… That's my real name." He claimed. Emily nodded.

Two-Bit walked the group to the edge of a chain link fence, right where it met with an old ticket booth and lifted up a broken piece, reveling a space just big enough to let them all squeeze through. Johnny went first, followed by Ponyboy. Emily's small frame allowed her to easily fit through. Finally, Two-Bit wiggled through, nearly getting his shirt caught in the fence. They were in.

They made their way to the seats that sat in front of the cars and sat down.

"Why dodn't you bring a car to a drive-in?" Emily asked once they had been seated.

"There's no way to sneak in with a car." He claimed, letting out a laugh. "Plus, I don't got a car." Emily nodded and looked up at the giant screen. Nothing was playing yet. She decided to start a conversation with Two-Bit while the others went to get food.

"So," She started "Why are you called Two-Bit?"

"Cuz I always give my two bits worth… `Least that's what everyone says. Two bit actually means somethin' along the line of worthless and cheap."

"I bet you aren't all that worthless." Emily remarked. "If anyone is worthless, it oughta be me. Hell, I'm worth nothing."

"Well, I'm twenty, twenty-one in a few weeks" He started "I just finished high school cuz the school said they can't keep me there no longer. Said I was 'too dumb' and people my age shouldn't be in school. I don't have a job, but I should so I can help out my mom. I drink too much, even though I legally can't, because its the only way for me to forget how useless I am." He stated, all with a smirk on his face. His eyes however told a different story.

"My mom still beats me even though I am legally my own person and she shouldn't be allowed to." Emily said, staring up at the sky. "And because she hurts me I hurt myself because I am the only person who should be allowed to do that. I work to buy myself a new house, but I can never seem to get the money, and everyday I consider running away, going to find my dad, and starting over, but I don't because I'm too scared." She could feel Two-Bit staring at her, not saying anything. Johnny and Ponyboy had arrived with food, and silently sat down as the movie began to play.

Silently they sat for about a minute before Two-Bit opened his mouth. "You remind me of my cousin, Emily."

"How so?" She replied, taking a sip of the coke the boys had bought for her.

"You're a well-dressed girl with a dirty mouth." Emily laughed, and he laughed along with her.

"Well… You remind me of my neighbor… A loud guy who tells bad jokes." Two made a face, clearly ticked off, but also slightly amused.

They both looked up at the movie and sat silently as the events of a slightly boring chick flick played out in front of them. Emily yawned as she took a sip of her Coke. She didn't want to say, but the movie was quite crappy. Luckily, Two-Bit had read her mind.

"Man, this movie blows." He turned to face Pony and Johnny. "Ya'll wanna go to grab some food? This popcorn ain't doin' nothin'." The two boys agreed and stood up. Emily followed. They climbed back through the secret enterance they came through and out to the sidewalk. Two-Bit led them about two blocks down to a little diner with bright, neon lights flashing outside of it. Emily smiled. It reminded her of the diner she worked at, but a bit more well kept.

Thay walked into the diner, a little bell ringing out as they entered. No one was in there except for a little old woman cleaning off a booth. She looked up and smiled when she saw they group.

"Keith Mathews!" The lady proclaimed. Ponyboy tried to hide a laugh behind a cough.

"Hello there, Mrs. Dorothy!" He said, going in to give her a side hug.

"Here, here, you all can sit over here." She said, gesturing the table that she had just finished cleaning. They sat, and Mrs. Dorothy handed them each a menu to look at. "Keith, how has your mother been?" She asked as she pulled out a pen.

"Ma's been good. Got herself a new job. Keepin' herself busy."

"That's good… Ya'll want somethin' to drink?" They looked around at each other and ordered. Two-Bit and Pony ordered Cokes, Emily got a milkshake, and Johnny didn't get anything. Mrs. Dorothy walked away with a smile plastered on her face. That's when Ponyboy started to laugh.

"Don't start Pone…" Two said.

"Keith Mathews…" Pony replied. "It's always nice hearing people say your real name."

"It's always nice seein' you get pushed off a cliff too, isn't it." This caused Johnny to laugh, as well as Emily.

Mrs. Dorothy brought out the drinks and got their orders. All the boys ordered something, but Emily decided she wan't hungry. She spent much of her work day eating when she wasn't actually working, so she wasn't in much need of food.

They all talked while they waited. It was more like the boys talked and Emily listened in on the conversation silently. She didn't mind all that much. It was interesting listening to these boys talk about their gang and girls and other gangs and whatnot.

Emily knew all about gangs. She used to have a friend called Mike who was in a gang. She knew what he did there too, all the fighting and the drinking and the hooking up with girls. He left for some college though. She was happy he left that life behind. These boys didn't look like the type to be in a gang, though. They seemed too sweet to ever do that kind of stuff. They were all different. In Mike's gang, everyone was the same; Cold, hard, and tough. They didn't express emotion or care if anyone got hurt. If something happened, it happened.

"Hey Emily." Two-Bit said, bringing her out of her dazed state.

"Mhm." She answered, taking a sip of her nearly empty milkshake.

"You ain't talkin' all that much."

"Yeah. Not much to talk about today I guess." She began to fiddle with her straw as she watched the boys eat the food that had just been brought out. Every once in a while, she would try to sneak a french fry off of Two-Bit's plate, only to have him taking it back and make a point of chewing it very loudly and obnoxiously. She smilied while this happened, and eventually, he gave her the rest of his fries.

Other than that, the diner visit was quite uneventful. However, Emily quite enjoyed being there and just hanging out, so she was a bit sad as they prepared to leave.

"Ok, so." Two-Bit started "First we are gonna head to Pony's cuz it's real close and ya'll can stay there, maybe pick up a piece of cake." Emily nodded when he looked at her with an expression as if saying If that's alright with you. "Then we can head to your house and I'll drop you off… You don't live too far, right Emily?"

"No… maybe ten minutes away…" That was a lie. She lived farther than that, but she didn't tell him and make him not want to go with her.

They started off, heading over to the Curtis' house as it was referred too. The house was about the same size as hers and had the same worn down look.

"This is where the whole gang hangs out." Two-Bit explained as they walked away from the house. "Technically, it's just Pony's house with his brothers, but we all crash there all the time."

"What do you mean by we?" She asked.

"Well me, Johnny, Dally, Steve, Pony, and his brothers Soda and Darry." Emily nodded. "I should introduce you to them sometime. They are real cool guys. I don't what I would do without them, ya know?"

"Yeah." She didn't know, actually. She never had anyone like that. No close friends or family. It was always just Emily, the lone wolf.

The rest of the walk was silent. No cars drove by, but Emily noticed that Two had taken out a blade just incase Socs decided to pull up. The only thing to be heard was their foot steps until they arrived to her run down home. The lights weren't on, meaning her mom was out drinking. All was okay.

"Well…" She started. "It's been a great night. Thanks." She smirked while looking at the front door.

"I had a nice night too. Sorry that my buds were there, but it's not like it was a date or nothin'."

"It's fine… I like your friends." She started towards the door.

"I'll see you around Em."

"No one calls me Em."

"Well I guess I'm the first." He paused. "Where exactly do you work?" She gave him the information, and with that, Two-Bit was gone. Emily grinned as he walked away, looking up and down before going inside.

 **WOW! That was a long, uneventful filler chapter. Sorry if it wasn't the best, I just wanted to get it done quickly so I could post it. Please review and tell me what I could do better. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four!**

 **So I finally have a legit idea of what I want to have next and exactly what I want to do with this story, so some of that will seen in this chapter, which may get a bit dramatic, so be prepared. There may be some mention of abuse in this chapter… so warning. Otherwise, enjoy!**

It had been the best week Emily had had in a long time. No mom troubles, easy work days. Everything seemed to be going her way. Not to mention the surprise visits she got from Two-Bit at the diner.

He would show up at the most random times. Sometimes it would be near the end of her work shift, other times before it even started. He would usually slip into a booth and sit there, denying any wait staff who asked for his order until Emily appeared. One day he brought another gang member. His name was Steve. Steve would keep leaning over and whispering to Two as she walked away from their table, and Two-Bit would smack his shoulder as Emily laughed in the distance.

It seemed as though nothing in her week could go wrong. However, this was proven wrong at the end of the week.

Emily had got a ride from Two-Bit after work on Friday. They talked about their day. He hung out at the bar, to which Emily asked why he was at the bar during the day time. "It's never too early to get a drink." He replied with a smirk. He dropped her off at her house and waved good bye. At this point, it was routine.

She walked in her house, finding it in a worse state than it was that morning. Beer bottles had been strewn all over the floor, dirty laundry littering the furniture, and the smell of cigarettes filled the air. On the couch sat her mom, who was in a more distraught state than usual. She looked up at Emily.

"Who is that boy?" Her mother asked, taking a puff of her cigarette.

"A friend." Her mom nodded, finished off her cigarette and reaching for another one. She seemed off. Her eyes were bloodshot, as if she hadn't got sleep in days, which was odd since that was the majority of what she did. "Mom… What's wrong?"

Her mother stood up and dropped her cigarette package on the floor. "None of your business." And with that, Emily decided to leave the room, but her mother apparently didn't want her to. "Emily, actually, I do have a problem." Her mom took a step forward, causing Emily to take a step back. "It's you!" She hollered suddenly.

"Mom!"

"You're the problem, and if it weren't for you, your father wouldn'ta ever left my ass for some no good lying bitch Cheryl!"

"I didn't do anything, Mom!" In that moment, her mother left forward, causing Emily to fall to the ground.

"You've ruined my life! If it weren't because of you, he wouldn'ta been gone." Her mother raised a fist to Emily, and no matter how much she tried to push it away, she'd raise her other fist and strike her in the cheek. This was her way to let out her anger. "He's gone now! Earl's gone!" Tears ran down both their faces now.

"Stop!" Emily choked.

"He's dead, Emily, and it's all your fault! He wouldn't've gone down that road if it weren't for you!" Her mother hit her in the temple, and Emily pushed her off.

"You shut up! You are a no good excuse of a mother!"

In that moment, Emily made a decision. She never wanted to see her mom again. She rushed to her room and slammed the door shut. Without thinking, she grabbed her bag that she had prepared for when she would leave her childhood home, containing clothes, makeup, hair products, the essentials. She reached under her mattress and grabbed her money, nearly three years worth of paychecks and money she had stole from her mom and stuffed it in her coat pocket.

Emily climbed out of her window and took one last look in before leaving. She had no clue how long it would be before she would come back to this place.

It was darker then it was what Two-Bit had dropped her off, which felt like an eternity ago. She started down the street to a house a mere block away. There resided her friend Julia Jenkins. They weren't great friends, but Julia did own a car. They worked together, so Julia understood all about her mom problems that she complained about at work. She'd be willing to take her somewhere far.

The house was dark, but she was sure she was home, because of her parked car. Emily knocked on her door, and next thing she knew, Julia was opening it.

"Emily? Why are you here?" Julia asked.

"Julia, I don't need you to ask questions, I just need you to drive me somewhere."

In less than five minutes, they were on the road, heading to a motel about twenty minutes out of town. Julia didn't say anything, other then telling her about the bloody cut on Emily's cheek that she hadn't even noticed. Now that she was relaxed, feelings started to sink in.

My dad is dead? Emily thought, swallowing the lump in the back of her throat. She never really saw her dad much, but they had been very close when she was little. He left when she was five, so she didn't have much memories about him, but they were all good ones. He hadn't seen him since, but he always sent her letters on her birthday or Christmas. Emily found it strange that she was hurting over someone she barely knew.

Emily had anticipated the moment the left the house for a long time, but she didn't think it'd be under these circumstances. She'd figured she would have been more prepared. But she was gone now, and there was no heading back.

The motel was old and run down. Julia pulled into a parking spot and walked her inside, paying for her room. Emily didn't argue, as she needed to keep as much money as possible. Emily instructed Julia not to tell anyone about what had happened that night, and to tell their manager she would be gone for a few days due to family issues. Julia complied and left, leaving Emily alone in the room.

All the emotions that Emily had been holding inside her over the course of no more than forty minutes had spilled out the second Julia closed the door. Tears streamed down her face, cleaning the dried blood that caked her face. She sank to the floor and curled up in a ball, letting her emotions take over until she drained her energy. She climbed into the bed, cried some more and fell asleep.

[Two's POV]

The weather wasn't something Two-Bit normally payed attention to, but, boy was it nice today. He was driving to Emily's work to visit her. It had become a routine for him over the course of the week. He enjoyed being in her presence, even if they weren't talking. She was so different from any greaser girl he knew. Maybe it was the hair.

He pulled into the parking lot and got out of his car. Two-Bit walked it and immediately noticed something was off. He sat down in a booth and looked around for Emily, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Two got prepared to leave when a waitress walked up to his table.

"No, I'm good." He said before she could open her mouth.

"Hey, you're Emily's friend, right?" She asked. He nodded. He looked at her nametag. Julia. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but I think you should know that something happened between her and her mom last night and I had to drive her to a motel."

"Which one?"

"Um… That 24/7 Motel about twenty minutes out of town. I think she's in the room closest to the front office" Two-Bit nodded, knowing where to go. "Don't tell her I told you where she was. Just… God, she needs help. Just help her."

"I'll try my best."

He couldn't believe she was staying in this dump. He thought his bedroom was bad, but the motel was worse. He climbed out of the car and made his way to the door closest to reception. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. After a full minute, he knocked again. Still nothing.

Two-Bit sat down on the curb and pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long puff of it. He sat for a while, looking out in the distance. He didn't think about much, but then again, he wasn't one for thinking. He liked doing.

He had been so lost in not thinking that he barely noticed the door open behind him.

"That bitch opened her mouth. Fuck." He turned to see Emily staring down at him. He'd never seen her in the state she was in now. Her hair was tousled and her eyes were bloodshot. She smelled of alcohol and old cigarette smoke.

"You look like you just died in a crash."

"Feels like I did too." Emily replied, running her hand through her messy hair. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you, like I do everyday." He stood up and walked towards her as she gestured for her to come inside of her room.

It was a messy room. The bed sheets were wrinkled and falling of the bed. Cigarette butts littered the ground, along with many empty Coke bottles and one single bottle of beer which was still half full.

"Why are you staying in this place?" He asked.

"Because I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"But why'd you have to leave in the first place is what I'm tryna ask."

"I wanted to leave… Is that so much?" She had a glare in her eyes that told him that wasn't exactly why she left. They sat in silence for a minute or so before Emily spoke again. "I left for good, you know. I'm not going back there. I've got just enough money to buy myself a small house. It won't be pretty, but…"

"You're just gonna stay here till you get a house? That'll take weeks… You know that right?" Emily stopped her back and forth pacing and whispered a few curse words under her voice. They stared at each other when Two-Bit got an idea and a smile appeared on his face. "Actually, I have a friend who builds houses and his girlfriend is a realtor. They could get you a house like that." He snapped his fingers.

"For real?"

"For real." Emily grinned. "I could bring them to you right now, if you want."

"Great!"

 **Please review and tell me what can be done better!**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE!**

 **I have been thinking and realized that I have idea when I am going to end this fanfiction and write another one for one of the other boys (which I'll actully start soon, hopefully). I'd like to have readers to leave who I write about next in a review or something… Also, I have no clue how house buying works, so this may not be too accurate, but I want to get it over with, because I have something dramatic (or romantic) planned for the next chapter, so don't expect too much this chapter. That's it. Enjoy!**

They pulled up to a small building on the nicer side of Tulsa. At the front, above the door, hung a sign that read Curtis' Construction. Two-Bit climbed out of the car, and Emily followed close behind as he walked into the building.

"Realtors don't work at construction companies… Why are we here?" Emily asked, looking around the empty room filled with only two chairs and a reception desk without a receptionist.

"Well I have no clue where Alice works, so I'll ask Darry. Bet she's on lunch break right now anyway. She always comes here for lunch."

"How the hell do you know this?" Two-Bit ignored her question and walked into a door with a sign saying Employees Only. Emily followed reluctantly as he led her down a long hall to another door that was slightly ajar.

Without knocking, he barged in and announced, "Darryl Shaynne Curtis, ladies and gentlemen!" Emily looked in to see a large, fit man sitting behind the desk with his feet propped up, and a women sitting indian style in the seat across from him. They both put down their food and looked in confusion at Two-Bit.

"Two-Bit, why the hell are you here?", asked the man Emily presumed was Darry. He looked angry.

"I'm not here for you, you old coonch. I'm here for your woman." He stated with a smirk.

"Oh, great.", whispered the woman, who Emily guessed to be Alice.

It was then that the pair noticed Emily standing in the doorway. Emily tensed up a bit and waved a little wave at the two. "Hi…" She muttered.

"And you are…?" Asked Darry, standing up from his seat.

"Oh… Right. I'm Emily." She said awkwardly, shifting around a bit.

"Hello, Emily." He said, shaking her hand. "I'm Darry, and this is Alice." He gestured over to his girlfriend, who smiled warmly and waved.

"What can I help ya' with, Two-Bit?" Alice asked. Her accent was one that Emily normally heard from the people around town, but Alice's was much warmer and comforting. Emily liked her already.

"Well my friend over here needs to buy herself a house." Two-Bit pointed at Emily, who felt her face flush red. She didn't normally get embarassed, but something about the situation she found herself in made her feel uncomfortable.

"That's great!" Alice exclaimed, before turning to Emily. "How about I give ya'll my office address and I'll meet you down there after I finish up here, alright?" They both nodded as Alice grabbed a piece of paper from her boyfriend's desk and wrote down the address. Alice handed the slip to Emily, who handed it to Two-Bit to examine. "You know how to get there?" She asked. Two-Bit gave her a thumbs up. "Alright. I should be finished up here any time soon, so ya'll shouldn't have to wait too long."

It was an awkward wait in Alice's office. Two-Bit and Emily didn't talk much, only when he stated that he needed to go to the bathroom, leaving Emily to her thoughts.

She still couldn't believe what she had done. She had imagined leaving home so many times in her head, but she had never planned what she would do after she had left, and here she was now, going to buy a house. It was a strange feeling to do something like this, something so adult. Emily felt excited about it, but also quite nervous.

Two-Bit walked back into the room and sat back down.

"Why are you doing all this for me?" Emily asked out loud, not being able to stop her self from saying it.

"Doing what?"

"Well you visit me at work every goddamn day and talk to me, you drove all the way out to my ugly motel to come see me, and now you are helping me to buy a house. Normal people don't do that for other people. Hell, I wouldn't do that for someone. So why are you doing all this stuff to help me?"

"I guess…" He paused. "I don't know. I haven't thought much about it." He opened his mouth to say something else, but the sound of the door opening stopped him. Alice walked in and set down her stuff before sitting down at her desk.

"So," Alice said, looking up from some papers she had set down. "You want to buy a house." Emily nodded and stared at Two-Bit, who was messing with a string that was hanging off his chair. "Alright. How much moeny do you plan to spend on it?"

"Well, I haven't exacly counted, but I think this enough to buy something." She pulled out a large stack of money from her purse and placed it on the desk. Together, Alice and Emily counted it out.

"You have nearly $7,000. That's enough to get something. It wouldn't be too pretty, but I'm sure I can find you a place that can suit your needs." Alice pulled out a large binder from under her desk and started to flip through it, making notes on a piece of paper. This went on for about two minutes before she looked up at Emily again. "I have two houses that I can show you. We could go now if you'd like. My schedules clear for an hour and a half. If we do this quickly, it shouldn't take long."

"Sounds good." Emily replied, ignoring her shaky voice and the butterflies in her stomach. She was nervous.

The three got up and walked outside. Alice drove in front of Emily ad Two-Bit, guiding them through Tulsa. She led them to a neighborhood that laid on the edge of greaser territory, meaning nicer homes than most greasers were used to, but not nice enough to be considered middle-class. They stopped in front of a small but rather new house. Alice stepped out of her car and the other two did the same.

Alice explained the price of the house and led Emily inside. Two-Bit stayed in his car and pulled out a cigarette.

The house nicer then anywhere Emily had lived, but she was sure a soc or a middle classer would think otherwise. She didn't expect anything too nice, anyway. Overall, Emily thought that it was a nice house in a nice area.

"Hey, Alice…" Emily said as the tour came to a close. "I actually really like this house. We don't have to go to the other one, if that's alright. I'd much like this one."

"If that's what you really want, then sure. In my opinion, this house is nicer then the other one." Alice looked down at some papers she'd pulled out of her purse. "I don't think we have any buyers right now, so you could buy right now and move in… oh, I don't know, as soon as next week."

"Really?"

"If everything goes well, then yes." Emily grinned and left Alice with her money after signing a few papers. They stood in silence as Alice reviewed the papers. "Emily, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah…" Emily replied hesitantly.

"What's the relationship between you and Two-Bit? I've been trying to figure it out, but I just can't."

"We're just friends, I guess." Emily said. Honestly, Emily didn't have a real answer to that question. She'd spend lots of time thinking the same thing, because she didn't know.

"Ahh… Well you're free to go." Alice said. Emily walked out of the house, still pondering over the question as she made her way to Two-Bit's car. She opened the door and sat down. Two-Bit hadn't seemed to notice she had climbed in until she told him they didn't need to go to the second house. He nodded and turned on the car and drove away.

"You wanna hang out tonight?" He asked, putting out the cigarette that had been in his mouth. She smiled.

"Where at?"

"That's a surprise."

"Sure, I'll hang with you." She said, running her hand through her dark hair.

"Cool. I'll pick you up at seven." Emily smiled as he drove her back to the motel. He snuck quick glances at her, think about how pretty she was.

 **This wasn't the best chapter… Sorry. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 **ROMANCE! This is the kind of stuff I like. I know I said back in another chapter that I didn't wanna write a lovey-dovey fanfic, but that's kinda what it's turning into… oops. Anyway, on with it!**

He didn't show up at seven, nor did he arrive at seven thirty. Or eight, or nine, or ten, or even eleven. Emily couldn't believe that Two-Bit had ditched her. Still, she perservered, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he would show up at her motel room door ready to whisk her off into the sunset… or at the rate he seemed to be going, the sunrise.

As if some god had heard Emily's wishes, someone knocked on her door no later than 11:15. She got up and peeked through the window to see none other than Two-Bit Mathews standing there with what appeared to be a can of beer in his hand. She opened the door and put of her best bitch-face.

"Where the hell were you?" She exlaimed.

Drunkinly, he replied, "At a rumble, baby!"

"Fuck." She whispered, ignoring that he had called her baby. She looked at his face and noticed the multiple cuts and bruise that adorned it. "Are you drunk?"

"Ehh…" He replied, stumbling through the door without asking Emily otherwise. Emily grabbed him by the shoulders and led him to the bed and lay him down.

"Stay here." She ordered him. Surprisingly, he complied. "I'm going to get you some water. I'll be right back." Emily walked out of her room to the reception and silently grabbed a large stack of styrafoam cups and filled one with water before walking back to the room, where Two-Bit laid sipping on his beer. "Give me that!" She exclaimed, snatching the can from his sweaty hands and replacing it with a cup of water.

"You need to drink this." She said.

"But why?" He asked, staring down at it.

"Because you are too drunk to go anywhere and if you are gonna stay in here with me, I don't want you too be drunk off your ass." She walked up to him and raised the cup to his mouth before he could say another word. He didn't argue, but did try to whack her arms out the way. Emily put down the cup once his mouth seemed to fill up with too much water and set it on the bedside table.

Two-Bit laid down on the bed dramtically and sighed. "I'm sorry." He mumbled. "It's just, I had no clue there was gonna be a rumble tonight, and I can't just back outta a rumble. Ya feel me?"

"Mmm…" Emily replied in an annoyed tone. She stared at the walls. "Why'd you drive all the way back here for me? I would have understood if you just explained to me." Emily heard the sheets behind her and turned to see Two-Bit propping himself up on his elbows.

"`Cuz I wanted to hang out with you, doll." Emily raised her eyebrows when he said doll, but didn't mention it. She sat down on the bed next to him and chewed on the inside of her cheek awkwardly before grabbing a cigarette. She lit it and put it between her lips.

"You shouldn't smoke, ya know… It could kill you." Two-Bit said, obviously not acknowledging the cigarette he had smoked earlier that day.

"I know that, but I don't really care if I die. No one who has ever cared about me is alive anymore." She thought of her dad in that moment. She still had no clue what had happened to him. She thought of her mom, who only kept her because of Emily's older brother, who had adored her when they were little. Nowadays, they rarely talked.

"I care about you." Two-Bit said.

"That's just drunk-you talking." She remarked. She hadn't meant to say it out loud, but it had just slipped. She was scared for his reply, because she didn't know what answer she wanted to hear, but there was no answer. They sat silently and it wasn't until five minutes later that Emily realized that Two-Bit was fast asleep. She looked at him. Did he really mean what he said? He couldn't have. Then again, she knew he drank a lot. He probably learned to control what he said while drunk. He could have been telling the truth.

Emily didn't know how she felt about that. She had came to the conclusion while she was waiting for him to pick her up that she liked him. She never really had crushes on people, and had only ever dated one other guy in high school named Chris. He was a year older than her and broke up with her a week before he graduated. Emily hadn't seen him since. But she never really liked Chris the way she liked Two-Bit. Two-Bit was different to her. He listened to her like no body ever did, he understood her. Oh, and he was funny.

Emily laid back onto the bed, making sure to give Two his space, and stared at the ceiling before dosing off into a deep sleep.

[Two-Bit's POV]

Morning's had always been Two-Bit Mathew's least favorite time of day. It was always too bright and he was still too tired, but also very hungry. He couldn't drink in the mornings, either.

This particular morning was different, though. It wasn't as bright when he woke up. He wasn't in his bed. Hell, he wasn't even at home. He heard the sound of a shower running. Looking around, he gained memory of where he was. Emily's motel room. Shit.

Frantically, he seached the room for any sign of anything that may have happened last night. When he noticed he was still fully clothed and there were no condoms in sight was when he knew everything was okay.

It had occured to Two-Bit that he hadn't had a hangover this bad in a while. He had a throbbing headache and felt as if he couldn't even move. So he laid in that motel room bed, waiting not-so patiently for Emily to finish her shower.

She was a long shower taker, he discovered. He heard the shower turn off after fifteen minutes of him being awake, but she didn't walk out of the bathroom for another five.

Emily walked out wearing pajamas and a pair of slippers. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, which didn't really stop water from getting on the floor. She looked down at the bed, making eye contact with Two-Bit. He gave her a small smile and waved at her, in a sarcastic way.

"Good, you're awake." Emily said, walking over to the bed. "You look like hell."

"I would say the same for you, but…" He stopped himself there. He didn't want to say anything he didn't mean, or anything he did mean. Emily smiled at his remark and turned away.

"Do you need water or somethin'?" She asked him, walking to the other side of the bed to grab a styrafoam cup. He nodded in response. Emily made her way into the bathroom to fill up the cup and walked back out, handing it to him and watching as he drank the water slowly but steadily. He brought the cup down and placed it between his legs, careful not to spill it. Emily sat down next to him.

"You're awfuly nice, you know that?" Two-Bit said, taking another sip of water, mostly from Emily's sake, and not so much his.

"I'm nice to people who are nice to me."

"I'm not all that nice to you. I mean I nearly ditched you on our date yesterday,"

"Our date?" Emily interupted. He turned to her to see her face going red, the same way his was.

"I mean, our… Us hanging out." Two-Bit paused. He had forgot what he was talking about just moments ago, so he decided to say something else. "Emily…"

"Yeah."

"What would you think `bout actually goin' on a date?" She looked up at him and turned an even darker shade of red. He chuckled. "You remind me of a tomato."

"God, I do, don't I?" She muttered, looking down.

"So about that date?" He asked again, this time a bit more nervous.

"Oh, um, yeah, the date." A smile tugged at her lips. "I don't think a date could hurt. So, sure… I'll go on a date with you."

"I promise no rumble tonight, okay?"

"Okay."

"Be ready by… Oh I don't know… twelve. I'm takin' you on a lunch date, cuz' you can never go wrong with lunch. Plus you got the whole day ahead of you to do whatever you please."

"I'll be ready." Emily replied with a grin. With that, a slightly less hungover Two-Bit walked out and got into his car with a smile on his face.

 **I don't think this is a really long chapter, nor is it as eventful as I thought it would be. PLease review however, so I can avoid these kinds of chapters. Or just review to tell me it wasn't as crappy as I figured.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 **I think pretty soon I'm gonna start writing my next fic about another Curtis Gang guy and his girl, and I think I've narrowed it down to either Steve or Dally, so if people could please tell me which one they'd like to see better, that'd be helpful! I hope you enjoy Two-Bit and Emily's first date and what not! Also sorry for not updating g for like three months.**

Emily had no clue how to dress for this date. It was the first date she had been on in years. She decided on a simple blue dress and a pair of white shoes to go with it. It was simple, yet classy, just in case they ended up going somewhere nice… Which she doubted. Emily pulled her hair up in a ponytail and put on a bit on mascara, seeing as her face was quite clear today and not in need of makeup.

She had finished getting ready quite early, she realized, so she walked over to the phone that sat on the bedside table and put in the number of her manager. It rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" Emily asked when the other end was silent.

"Oh, um, Hello, thank you for calling-"

"Can I speak with Betty, please?"

"I'm afraid she's busy right now."

"Look, it's Emily, and I need to talk to Betty. It's important."

"Ok…" The worker who Emily didn't recognize said hesitantly. "I'll see what I can do." Emily waited patiently for about a minute before another voice was speaking into the phone.

"Emily Walters, you best explain yourself." Her boss said, sounding a bit like her mother.

"I'm so sorry, Miss. I meant to call sooner, but life has been getting in the way, and I just didn't have the time."

"Mmhm… Now tell me why you haven't been at work for nearly four days now?"

"Well, you know my mother, she's always been very… Oh I don't know the word. Anyway, when I came home from work on Thursday, she got very upset at me, screaming and yelling and whatnot, and I'd had enough." She sighed before continuing. "I came to a motel with lots of money, and I have been spending my days trying to buy a house."

"Oh…" Replied Betty in a sympathetic tone. "When can you be back?"

"Tuesday, Miss. I promise."

"Okay. We'll talk about this more when you get back, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay. See you on Tuesday. Bye" Emily didn't get the chance to say bye, as Betty had already hung up. She was relieved that she hadn't been fired.

Looking at the only clock in the room, she saw had just turned eleven o'clock. Not knowing what to do with her other hour, she lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling. She didn't think about much while laying there, only the fact that she was going on a date for the first time in a while. She smiled a bit, thinking about that.

Though time seemed to be passing slowly while laying there, it wasn't much later that there was a knock on the door. She got up and brushed a stray hair behind her ear before checking through the peephole to see Keith Mathews standing there, looking around.

Emily opened the door and put on a smile.

"Hey there, doll." Two-Bit remarked, which made her blush. She looked away, keeping the smile on her face.

"Hi!" She answered, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. She walked over to his beat-up car and Two-Bit almost made it to the drivers seat before running back around to open the passenger side door for her. She grinned and stepped in the car. "Why, thank you, good sir." Emily remarked, speaking in a cheesy English accent.

"You're welcome, fine lady." He replied in an even cheesier voice. She laughed. He started up the car, and off they were, driving away from Tulsa.

"Can I ask where we're going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Oh. I like surprises." She remarked, making her think back to the surprise party her dad threw for her when she turned five. That was before he left. Many of Emily's happy memories involved her dad. The felt a lump form in her throat just thinking about him. She had no clue why her dad left, taking her brother with him, and now she never would. Emily allowed one tear to leave her eye, but nothing more.

"Are you okay?" Two-Bit asked, slowing his car down.

"Oh… Yeah." Emily nodded and wiped her eyes, turning her head towards the window so he wouldn't notice.

"Ok…" Two replied silently, keeping his vision focused on the road ahead, but taking a few glances over at Emily. "That is a nice color on you, ya know. Good shade of blue. I like it." Emily giggled softly, looking at Two-Bit's blue jeans and t-shirt, with a leather jacket over it.

"That jacket looks good on you." She replied. "Makes you look tough." Emily used some greaser lingo she had picked up from the people at school.

"Well it ain't mine. It's my friends."

"Huh." They sat silently for a moment, looking out at the road ahead. Emily smiled. She hadn't felt as happy as she felt in that moment for a while. Everything that had been happy in her life had made it hard to actually do something fun, and she was glad to be able to have the time to do something.

"How much longer till we get there?" Emily asked after a while, tugging on her ponytail.

"Not much longer." He left a pause. "I'm gonna tell you a story." Two-Bit said while he carefully examined a road sign. "When I was younger, I used to live right outside of Tulsa. In fact, I lived right about where we are right now. And each year, the fair would come two times. Once in the summer and once in the fall. My mom took me every year, regardless of the situation." He turned the car down a dirt road. "Lemme tell you, that fair was the best damn fair in all of Oklahoma." He stopped his story for a moment, and made sure he was driving in the right direction.

"Lucky for us…" He started. "The best damn fair in the state just so happens to be in town." And like magic, he turned a corner, and the fair grounds appeared in view.

"A fair?" Two-Bit frowned a bit.

"You don't like fairs?" He asked, pulling the car into a parking spot.

"No… It's just, I've never actually been to the fair before." Two-Bit gasped dramatically and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Never?" He asked.

"Never."

"Oh man, you are about to have the time of your life." He said with a grin as he climbed out of the car. Emily did the same, brushing off her dress. She hurried as she saw Two-Bit walk away.

The fair was nothing like she had ever seen before. It was so colorful. There were signs all over, advertising food and rides and everything else imaginable. People were scurrying about, holding tickets and cotton candy. Emily couldn't believe she had never been to the fair before. I seemed like so much fun, an escape from her life, her troubles.

Two-Bit bought them both some tickets, and they walked in.

"What do you want to do first?"

"Umm…" Emily thought. She didn't want to ride something too crazy. She got nauseous easily, and she was wearing a dress.

"Here." He said before she could answer. He grabbed her wrist and led her to a booth. A table with Coke bottles sat in the middle, and stuffed animals were scattered all over.

"You kids wanna play?" Asked the man inside the booth.

"Sure." Answered Two-Bit. He turned to Emily. "The goal is to get two of the rings on the bottles. Then you win a prize." He handed Emily the rings. She was nervous. Emily tossed the first ring. She missed. The second throw was a miss too. Saddened, she threw the third ring. Surprisingly enough, it made it onto a bottle.

"You didn't make two, but getting one wins you a Coke." Said the man, who's name tag read Clark. He grabbed one of the many Cokes and opened it up before handing it to her.

Clark then handed the rings to Two-Bit. Like magic, he made all three. He shrugged, as if he were a professional at this, and he did it all the time. Emily wouldn't have been surprised if he did this all the time.

"Congrats." Said Clark, who didn't seem to excited for Two. "You win a stuffed animal."

"Which one do you want?" He asked Emily.

"It's your choice." Two-Bit shrugged and pointed at the teddy bear with a blue ribbon tied around it's neck that was nearest to him and Clark handed it over. Two-Bit held it out to Emily.

"For you." He said softly as they walked from the booth.

"You won it though." Emily said, confused.

"Yeah, but I won it for you." He explained. Still confused, Emily took the bear. She smiled.

Emily had never had so much fun. They had rode on countless rides, but none that spun around too much. They played more games, and won countless Cokes. They bought food, too. Emily really liked the cotton candy. Two-Bit was partial to anything fried.

The sun was setting in the distance and people were starting to leave the fairgrounds. However, Two-Bit and Emily were going on one more ride before leaving. The ferris wheel. They had been waiting in line for a while and they weren't going to leave until they had got on it. This was true for Em, at least.

Beside her was a nervous Two-Bit, shuffling his feet and constantly looking up at the tall Ferris wheel in all its glory. As they got closer to the front, he started moving around some more. Emily ceased to notice.

After waiting and waiting, the pair was finally at the front of the line, waiting to be put in the next empty seat. The man behind the whole operation sat them down and pulled a bar down in front of them. Two looked down at the bar. It didn't look safe.

As the wheel started to move, Emily noticed that something was off. Not with the ride, or the fair, or herself. In looking over, she found her answer. A once talkative Two-Bit was now silenced and bug-eyed, his face pale as can be, bringing out the freckles that Emily thought were oh-so adorable… But now wasn't the time to think about freckles.

"Two… what's wrong?" She asked, tugging on her ponytail. He grunted in response. She sighed. "Something's up."

"Ehh… If I tell you, promise you won't laugh."

"I can't fully promise. Everything you say is pretty funny." She noticed him gripping the edge of the seat as they got higher, yet failed to put to pieces together.

"Right, okay." He cleared his throat. "I should have mentioned this sooner, but I'm kind of scared of heights." At the moment, Emily understood all of his nervous mannerisms. She nodded, holding in a giggle.

"Look at me." She ordered, grabbing his chin to make him face her. "Now give me your hands." This one was trickier. He was holding on so tight for fear of falling. Reluctantly he took his hands away from the seat. Emily held them in hers. "Now we talk. How was your day?"

"It was… fun." He said with a nervous gulp.

"Tell me more." Emily added.

"Well…" he said, trying to look around. Emily guided his eyes back to hers. "I had fun… hanging out with you and seeing you be happy because of all these issues that you had when I met you."

Em smiled at him. "I've had fun, Two. I have had this much fun in forever. Thanks for bringing me here." He merely nodded as the ride slowed down. Luckily they were the first ones off. They gathered their items and headed for the exit. They made their way towards his car, which was one of the only ones left in the lot.

"You know Two-Bit?" Emily asked as he held the door open for her. "I think you qualify for a second date." He just smiled. As she was about to climb in, she stood on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

He climbed into the driver's seat, his face clearly red, even in the dark. Emily dozed off as they drove back to Tulsa.

 **Ugghhhh. I realize I haven't written in forever and I'm sorry. Now that school has ended for the summer, I will try my best to write some more. I hope you enjoyed that chapter because I enjoyed writing it**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **This will probably be a short filler chapter until I figure out a big dramatic thing to write about later on. It may be a bit boring… sorry in advance.**

Moving day. The house was finally ready. Emily couldn't have been more excited to get out of the house. Julia drive her and her suitcase to the house because Two was busy.

Emily didn't have many belongings. Just the clothes in her suitcase and, well… everything at home.

She tried not to think about the fact that she'd have to go back to her mom, but she couldn't hold off forever. So after she dropped off her suitcase, Julia and Emily made their way to her old home.

It looked the same. Same broken window, same overgrown grass, same everything.

Reluctantly, Emily walked up to the front door, knocking loudly. It felt like an eternity waiting for someone to answer, and Emily was close to leaving when the door opened.

Her mom stared at her for what seemed like forever before speaking.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, taking a long drag on the cigarette she held.

"I'm here for my stuff." Emily said, letting herself in and walking to her old room. She didn't want to waste time.

"Where're you staying, huh? With one of your shut l'il friends?"

"No, actually. I've bought myself a house." Emily retorted, taking her mattress off of her bed. Her mother just grunted.

"Just hurry." She said before walking out.

Emily did hurry, stuffing her remaining clothes in a pillowcase, along with makeup, shoes, and anything she thought she needed before throwing it onto the mattress and walking back towards the front door.

She had her hand on the doorknob when she heard her mother call her name.

"Madelyn!" Emily grunted. She hated that name.

"Yes?" She responded, turning around to face her mother. She was holding out a piece of paper at her daughter. It looked more like a letter then anything.

Emily examined the letter more closely. It took her a moment to realize what the contents of it were. Then she understood.

A funeral. For her dad.

"Are you going?" She asked her mom, dumbfounded by the paper she had been handed.

"Hell no. I ain't going up to Pennsylvania for that good for nothing rats burial."

"Well, shit." Was all Emily said before walking out of that old house. She promised to herself in that moment that she never wanted to step foot in there again.

Julia drove her to her house. Emilys house.

She didn't have many belongings other than what she brought from her moms, whinch made unpacking a breeze. On the other hand, this meant she had to go out and buy furniture with the money she didn't have.

Now wasn't the time to think about furniture, however. Emily had much bigger problems, those being her dads funeral.

It was on Friday. That was two days away. She had no way to get to Pennsylvania by Friday. She didn't own a car, or have enough money to catch a last minute flight. It was a lost cause.

Emily had been staring at the funeral invitation for what seemed like hours before hearing the sound of someone knocking at the door.

"Come in!" She shouted, hoping that it wasn't some stranger coming to strangle her to death.

The person that walked through the door was not stranger, however. It was none other than Two-Bit Mathews.

However, Emily didn't notice this. She was to invested in this funeral situation. So she was very shocked when someone came rushing over to her mattress and jumped on it, nearly tacklong her in the process.

"Hey!" She shrieked. Turning around, she saw Two, posed like a model waiting to be painted by a famous artist. Emily was not happy.

"Nice place, Em." He said, looking around before looking at the cross armed girl sitting in front of him. "Why such a sad face? Shouldn't you be happy? You have your own house! I mean… you don't have a ton of furniture but-"

"It's my mom." Emily said, cutting him off. "It's always my mom." She whispered under her breath.

"Do you mind me asking what it is your mom did?"

"Ugh- It's just- She gave me this note today and… oh I dunno Keith just read it."

"Keith?" He was confused that she had just called him by his real name.

"Oh, god I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I don't mind all too much." He looked down at the note and began to read. He mumbled to himself as he read it, but Emily wasn't able to make out what he was saying.

After a minute or so he looked back up at Emily and frowned. "Damn."

"I know, right! My bitch mom decided to hand this to me as a going away gift. A funeral on Friday in Pennsylvania! I can't make it to Pennsylvania in a day!"

"Do you have to go?" Emily stood up, causing Two to scoot back in fear.

"Of course I have to go! It's my dad's funeral! My good-for-nothing mom isnt making the fucking trip, and I can't leave my brother on his lonesome in Nowhere, U.S.A.!" She sat back down and stared at the ground, on the verge of tears.

"I can drive you to Pennsylvania if you'd like…" Two-Bit said reluctantly. He waited for a reply from Emily, and was afraid that he wouldn't get one.

"You can't. It's too far."

"I'm serious, Em. I ain't doing anything with my life. Why not? I could use a trip away from this place." Emily sighed deeply and laid back on the mattress.

"If you insist…" she said. Two smiled at her, hoping for a smile back. Boy, did she love that smile of his.

"We'll have to leave early if we want to get to Pennsylvania by Friday with time to spare."

"How early?"

"Ummm… four in the morning… five maybe?"

"Sure. Are you sure you can wake up that early?"

"Ehhh…" he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"How about you pack some stuff at your house and drive back here and we can rest and make sure we leave on time?" He thought for a moment, considering the proposition.

"I don't see why not." He got up and grabbed his keys. "I'll be right back."

Emily got up and walked over to Two-Bit. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you Two."

"Any time, doll."

 **Short but sweet. I don't have much to say, but stay tuned. Don't forget to review, follow and favorite!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

 **If you haven't noticed already, I have put up a new fanfic. It is called Surreptitious. It isn't really a romance story like this one is, but rather a drama. It is The Outsiders as well. I only have one chapter up atm, but I would apprieciate if you took the time to check it out and leave a review or a follow.**

 **On with the story I guess!**

Emily didn't know how much stuff Two-Bit had to pack, but it seemed like a lot jodging from how long it took him to get back to her house. Luck for her, she already had everything she needed in a suitcase already, so all she had to do was wait.

And wait, and wait.

Finally, after what felt like forever, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" She shouted. The door flew open and in came Two-Bit Mathews with two plastic bags, one in each hand.

"You should really lock that door, ya know. I know some people who walk around all night looking for houses to break into."

"Well, they are out of luck because I don't own anything." She replied with a smirk. She got up and closed the door anyway. The idea of someone breaking into her house scared her. "What's in the bags?" She asked, making her way back to the mattress.

"Food! What else? I figured since we were gonna be here a few hours that we need to eat, because I know that you don't have anything to eat here, so I went home and brought some food from there and bought some at the gas station." Two then proceeded to empty the plastic bags of their contents, putting the food on the ground.

Chocolates, chips, sodas, and more now littered the floor of Emily's new home. It was unhealthy, for sure, but she had been feeding on diner food for the past few weeks and it was a relief to see something different.

She grabbed a candy bar from the floor and opened it up. She had never been so happy to see a chocolate bar in her life. She scarfed it down quickly, leaving her face and hands covered in the delicacy.

Two-Bit stared at her in disbelief. He couldn't believe that this small girl had just made that chocolate bar virtually disappear. He mustered a laugh.

"What's so funny?" She asked while wiping her mouth.

"Nothin'." He paused and looked at her. He pointed to the corner of her lip. "You have something right there." She wiped it away with a smile.

"Thanks."

The pair sat in silence, eating the food that Two-Bit had brought. Occasionally, they would stop and pace around the room before sitting back down and continuing with their "feist". It was a sight to see. However, food didn't last forever, and after a while, they ran out of it.

Emily laid back on the mattress and sighed. She was thankful that he had brought all this food now, but she knew that in a few hours, she wouldn't feel so well. However, Emily believed in living in the moment, even if the moment was a large pile of junk food.

Two-Bit laid down too, though he did it a lot more dramatically, as if he was an actor in a play.

"I've never seen a girl eat as quickly as you just did." He said.

"I like food. All I've ate for the longest time was grease. It's nice to eat something else for a change."

"This food ain't much better than grease." He responded, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess…" Emily replied, licking chocolate off of her fingers.

The pair sat silently in the living room before Two asked, "How come your dad lived in Pennsylvania and not here?" Emily gave him a funny look. "It's fine if you don't wanna answer and all…"

"No, it's ok." Emily answered with a deep sigh. "Me and my brother were born up there. He's a year older than me. When I was eight, my mom wanted to file for a divorce, but my dad wasn't having it, so she took me and left to defy what he wanted. There was a ton of legal stuff but I was too young to really get it." Emily looked at the ceiling and sighed. "I haven't seen James or my dad for twelve years."

Two-Bit looked at her with a pitiful look in his eyes. "Gee, I'm sorry Em."

"Nah, it's ok." She gave him a reassuring smile. "I would much rather live here than there. There are some things here in Oklahoma that I just couldn't leave behind. It was easy to leave there. I had nothing there. The only thing I miss is my family. I have so much more here."

"Hmmm.." Two hummed as he lay his head down. "And what would that be?"

Emily smile at him, but the look in her eyes was one of sadness and remembrance. "A good job, a house. I have my friends. Julia, Robert, Barb. I have you." Emily didn't realize what she had said till she saw the look on Two's face.

There was a long silence. Emily's stomach started to hurt. She couldn't tell if it was because if all the food she had ate or because of how nervous she was for Keith's response…Or if he would respond at all.

Suddenly, Two looked at her. Emily was surprised to see a smile. "What?"

"You know…" He started running his hand through his hair. "I don't think I've met a girl as nice as you."

"Really?"

"Really."

"I wasn't all too nice to you when we met." Emily replied, thinking back.

"That's true. But you are so… different, you know?" Emily nodded in response. She could feel herself falling asleep, laying there. "Hey Em… guess what?"

"What?" She replied groggily.

"Are you a banana?" Emily raised her eyebrows. "Because I find you a-peel-ing."

Emily frowned at the stupid pick up line he just told her, but she wasn't able to hold in a giggle. "That was so stupid Two!"

He laughed with her. "Stupid is my specialty." Two smirked.

Emily was tired and she knew they needed sleep if they wanted to stay up for the long trip the next day, but she enjoyed staying up with Two and talking. Nevertheless, she didn't want any delays the next day.

"Hey, Two-" She started, only to be cut off by his voice.

"I'll be right back." He announced, sitting up and rushing out the door. He arrived a moment later, holding a book of sorts. He waved it in the air. "Map." Emily sat up and sat next to him.

He observed the map, tracing roads with his finger. She watched him do this for a while before letting out a yawn. Two looked over at her.

"You need some rest. Go to sleep."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "You are the one who needs sleep. You're going to be driving for a long time!"

"Don't worry. I'll be done in a sec… do you have a pen?"

"Yeah." She yawned once more. "In the kitchen somewhere."

He got up and left the room in search of a pen. Emily lay her head on the mattress, grabbing a blanket from the corner of the room. She laid it over herself and shut her eyes.

She hadn't been lying down for more than a minute when she felt a nudge in her shoulder.

"Hey Em." Two-Bit whispered to her. She didn't even bother to open her eyes, and replied with a hum. "Lift your head up." She complied. Two sat down next to her once more. She set her head back down, and was surprised to find she was laying on Two's legs.

Emily looked up at him for a moment and whispered "Good night.", before falling asleep with a smile.

 **Favorite, follow and review! Thanks for reading!**


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